Exploring Alternative Health & Healing for Mind, Body & Soul

Last week, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend an Everyday Medicine Woman Retreat in Costa Rica. Along with 25 other women ranging in ages and from all walks of life, we descended upon Pura Vida Spa & Resort located in a secluded part of the Costa Rican Cloud Forest for 7 amazing days. The experience, in short, was life-changing! The insight and personal growth this journey provided me has been such a blessing to me that I will be sharing with you all. My hope for you is that you are able to gain some of the awakening and insight that was so powerful of an experience for me.

This morning I woke up to the dreaded ‘S’ word here in the Midwest, snow! Although, I have lived in the Snow Belt for all but one year of my life, the first snowfall always catches most Midwesterners and me by surprise. “Is it really that time of year again? What’s the date today?!? Wait! It’s already November 12! How has the year gone by so quickly! How many days left til’ Christmas?! Ugh! What a way to welcome me back from heavenly Costa Rica (got back to the States late Saturday) Can humans hibernate? I want to hibernate!”

As these thoughts ran through my head I realized that not only am I starting my day off with a flood of negativity but that snow and winter are beautifully symbolic.

My first ‘light bulb’ moment was that starting my day off with complaining, whining and sulking is just setting me up for an unhappy day. The mind is such a powerful tool in shaping our reality. What we think, we experience.

This got me thinking about how I can welcome the winter and welcome the snow. Which got me thinking about what snow and winter represent. Immediately, I was reminded of the life, death, life cycle here on Earth.

For me, winter is a time to reflect on what needs to symbolically die in my life. Is it a bad habit, negative thinking (like I had this morning), eating poorly? But most importantly, what bud or come to life by making these changes.

So as the snow falls, I hope you take a moment to meditate on the cleansing properties snow and winter bring to us and begin to allow habits, thinking, or patterns that hold you back to die, so that your highest potential and self can begin to bloom!!